It's How You Play the Game
by StokerGurl
Summary: Mike never learned how to play baseball. R&R PLEASE! Warning: not my best work!


I do not own these men, wish I did, but I don't *sigh*

Authors Note: Hey so I haven't written in awhile, been a bit busy. I hope you like this new story. R&R please. =D Oh, so this is a play off of the episode the story is named after, but it's in Mike's point of view. Ps, I might not follow the episode exactly.

**It's How You Play the Game**

Mike Stoker stared at the pitchers mitt that John Gage was holding. He envisioned the ball he was holding go straight into the curve of Johnny's hand. He winded his arm back to the point of pain and breathed out. As he let the air escape him, he threw the ball, which ended up flying over Johnny's head and toward the wall on the other side of the lot.

_Damn it! _Mike said to himself.

He looked over at Captain Stanley and Roy DeSoto who were leaning against Marco's car. They were smiling at him, and Mike returned the grin, trying to keep his face from going red. He was embarrassed that he couldn't even do a simple throw. Mike looked at Johnny who was getting noticeably agitated.

"Alright Mike, just focus, right in the glove….NO!!" Johnny said as Mike flubbed another throw.

Just then Marco put his head out the bay doors and said that lunch was ready. Johnny stood and pulled his glove off. He walked up to Mike and put his arm on his shoulder.

"It's ok, Mikey." He said, noticing the engineer's reddened face.

"No, I'm fine, just not much of a pitcher." Mike responded.

The men walked into the dayroom and sat down at the table. Johnny went on talking about the upcoming baseball game between stations.

"It's just a game, Gage." Captain Stanley said.

"Well..." John sat down and begun to explain to the guys about the bet he had made with the other station. Mike zoned out. He began to think about his baseball skills and the agitation in Johnny's voice. It reminded him of when he was a boy and the other kids made fun of him because he couldn't play baseball.

_20 years earlier_

"_Come on, Mikey, can't you throw a ball?" Eddy Turner asked. _

"_Su...Sure…I can." Mike stuttered, not liking being the center of attention. _

"_Well go ahead then!" Eddy said. _

_Mike picked up the dirty ball and turned it over in his hands, looking at the pitcher that kneeled on the pavement 20 feet off. He raised his arm above his head and threw with all his might. Mike missed his target by about ten feet and hit his teacher in the thigh. _

"_MICHEAL STOKER!" She screamed. _

_Mike ran over and whispered his apologies. _

"_Mr. Stoker, I will be talking to your mother very soon!" She yelled, and then limped off. _

_Mike had tears in his eyes that threatened to spew at any moment. He put his face in his hands and just stood there until he felt a poke in his back, it was Eddy. _

"_What's the matter with you Mickey? You act like you've never thrown a ball before. Didn't your Dad teach you?" He said. _

_Mike just stood there, tears now running down his cheeks. He wanted to tell Eddy that he was never taught by his father, because he didn't have a father. It was only him and his mom, and she was too busy with nursing school that she never taught him about sports. But he didn't say anything. He just ran over to the other side of the playground and sat face forward on the bench that the teachers usually sat on. He sat there every day for the rest fifth grade, and never talked to anyone during recess. _

Mike was brought back into reality when he heard the tones go off. He jumped from his seat and made it halfway to the engine before he heard that it was a Squad-only call. He turned to go back to the dayroom but decided he wanted to be alone and headed toward the dorm. He sat on his bunk and picked at the brick wall the separated his and Marco's bunks. He let himself return to the unhappy memories of his childhood. He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Mike?" Captain Stanley asked.

"Uhh…Yes sir?" Mike responded, his heart still pounding in his hears.

"What's up?"

"Nothing much, Cap, just tired that's all."

"You sure? You never miss out when Marco's cooking." Cap prodded.

"Yeah, just thinking about how I'm gonna pay for all the decorations at the picnic if we lose the baseball game."

Cap laughed and patted the Engineer on the shoulder and got up to leave.

"Cap, did your Dad teach you how to play baseball?"

"Yeah, and about a million other sports. Why?"

Mike cast his eyes down and started to fiddle with his fingers.

"Just wondering." Mike said.

Just then the engine got a call, Mike and Cap left, leaving there conversation behind.

Cap woke in the middle of the night; he looked over at Mike who slept soundly in his bunk. He quickly and quietly left the room and entered his office. He pulled a file drawer open and thumbed through the files until he found one labeled 'Mike Stoker.' He opened it and read the family history part.

"_Comes from a single parent house (mother), father is suspected dead."_

Cap shook his head.

"I should've known." He said aloud to himself. Cap put the folder down and stared out the window at the Engine. His glance fell on the driver's seat and the big wheel that protruded from the dash. His thoughts went to his Engineer, and the question he had asked earlier.

"_Cap, Did your Dad ever teach you how to play baseball?" _

Hank hung his head and sat there until he heard a figure enter the doorway.

"Cap? Are you ok?" Came the recognizable 'Paramedic' voice of Roy DeSoto.

"Yeah, Pal. Everything's alright. Just thinking, that's all." Cap said.

Roy relaxed his posture, glad to hear that there was nothing medically wrong with the Captain. He walked over and sat in the chair opposite Hank.

"So, are you gonna tell me, or am I gonna have to pull it out of you just like I do with Johnny?" Roy asked.

Cap laughed and then sighed, looking down at his hands.

"I was thinking about Mike, he seemed a little down after he tried to be a pitcher. When I asked him what was wrong he said nothing, but then asked me if my Dad had ever taught me how to baseball. When I came in here, I wanted to see what could have prompted a question like that. It seems that Mike's dad was never around, it even says there is a possibility he could be dead."

Roy sighed deeply. He knew that Mike wasn't one to openly talk about his life, but if he had just told someone, he might not have to feel so bad about not knowing how to play baseball.

"Do you think that's the real reason he's upset?" Roy asked.

"I don't know, but how many kids at your school were popular even if they didn't play sports?" Cap said.

Roy thought back to a time when he had joined in on picking on a kid because he couldn't play basketball. Nobody liked the kid and Roy and his friends weren't making his life any easier. He shook his head, guilty about the teasing and wondering if Mike was at the butt end of the many playground jokes.

"What should we do?" Roy asked, breaking the silence as both men were deep in thought.

"Well, I think he will be ok, just as long as we don't bring it up." Cap said.

"_Why can't you just throw a ball? Didn't your Dad ever teach you how to play?"_ _Johnny asked, looking down at Mike._

"_Nope, his Dad never taught him 'cause his Dad never came around. He might of gone and killed himself, and who's to blame? Who would want Mike anyways? He can't even throw a damn ball right." Marco said, standing next to Johnny. _

"_Well, I don't know if I can trust him as a firefighter, I mean if he can't throw a ball who is to say that he can't catch us when we fall?" Roy asked, joining the other two, who were nodding in agreement. _

"_He's just not right; I mean he's always just sitting there, not talking. How does he get girls? Seriously, who wants a guy who doesn't talk and can't play sports?" Chet chimed in._

"_I think these are grounds for termination." Cap said as he finished the circle._

Mike sat straight up on his cot. He shook his head and took two deep breaths. The last thing he had seen was Eddy's face in the middle of the circle, laughing at him as he picked up the dirty baseball to try the throw again.

After regaining control over his breathing and thoughts, Mike got up and went into the day room. He walked over to the counter holding up the TV; inside the cabinet was the baseball from the other day. He grabbed it and headed outside. He started throwing, every time missing his target in the middle of the brick wall. He became more and more frustrated with each throw.

Cap and Roy looked up at the sound of a dull thud.

"What the….?" Cap began to say as the sound came again.

"It sounds like it's coming from out back." Roy said as he got up to investigate.

The two men emerged from the office and walked out the doors that led outside. There they found Mike, picking up a baseball and hurling it at the wall on the other side of the lot. A grunt was heard as Mike threw a very fast ball, almost tearing the ligaments in his shoulder.

"Hey there, Mike, you might want to be careful." Roy said, his 'Paramedic voice' edging to the surface.

"I'll be careful when I throw this damn ball correctly!" Mike almost yelled at his shift mate.

Roy stood with his mouth open, he had never heard anything like that come from the Engineer's mouth, and never had expected it to.

Mike stopped and turned around.

"I'm sorry, Roy, I just got so frustrated."

"It's fine. Are you ok?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, I was just…uh….practicing." Mike said.

"Practicing how to put a hole through a brick wall?" Cap said, making them all laugh and break the tension.

"You know Mike, with that much strength; you could probably hit the ball out of the park when you're up to bat" Roy said.

"Oh, I'm not gonna play on Saturday."

"Why not?" Cap asked.

"I don't want to let the team down."

"Mike, how many times to I have to tell you and the rest of the guys? It's JUST a GAME!" Cap said.

"Yeah, come one Mike, it will be fun." Roy added.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt." Mike smiled, finally understanding that it's not about how well you play the game, it's about the fun you had by playing it.

End Note: Sorry, this is defiantly not my best.


End file.
